wait
Americanverb (used without object)
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to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens (often followed by for, till, oruntil ).
to wait for the bus to arrive.
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(of things) to be available or in readiness.
A letter is waiting for you.
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to remain neglected for a time.
a matter that can wait.
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to postpone or delay something or to be postponed or delayed.
We waited a week and then bought the house. Your vacation will have to wait until next month.
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to look forward to eagerly.
I'm just waiting for the day somebody knocks him down.
verb (used with object)
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to continue in expectation of; await.
I sat nervously on the bench, waiting my turn to audition.
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to postpone or delay in expectation.
Don't wait supper for me.
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Archaic. (of things) to be in readiness for; be reserved for; await.
Glory waits thee.
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Archaic. to attend upon or escort, especially as a sign of respect.
noun
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an act or instance of waiting or awaiting; delay; halt.
a wait at the border.
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a period or interval of waiting.
There will be a long wait between trains.
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Theater.
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the time between two acts, scenes, or the like.
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British.
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waits, (formerly) a band of musicians employed by a city or town to play music in parades, for official functions, etc.
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a street musician, especially a singer.
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one of a band of carolers.
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a piece sung by carolers, especially a Christmas carol.
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Obsolete. a watchman.
verb phrase
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wait up
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to postpone going to bed to await someone's arrival.
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Informal. to halt and wait for another to join one, as in running or walking.
Wait up, I can't walk so fast.
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wait on
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to perform the duties of an attendant or servant for.
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to supply the wants of a person, as serving a meal or serving a customer in a store.
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to call upon or visit (a person, especially a superior).
to wait on Her Majesty at the palace.
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Falconry. (of a hawk) to soar over ground until prey appears.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to wait for (a person); await.
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Also wait upon. to await (an event).
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idioms
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lie in wait, to wait in ambush.
The army lay in wait in the forest.
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wait table. table.
verb
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to stay in one place or remain inactive in expectation (of something); hold oneself in readiness (for something)
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to delay temporarily or be temporarily delayed
that work can wait
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(of things) to be in store (for a person)
success waits for you in your new job
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(intr) to act as a waiter or waitress
noun
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the act or an instance of waiting
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a period of waiting
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rare (plural) a band of musicians who go around the streets, esp at Christmas, singing and playing carols
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an interlude or interval between two acts or scenes in a play, etc
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to prepare an ambush (for someone)
Usage
Sometimes considered objectionable in standard usage, the idiom wait on meaning “to wait for, to await (a person)” is largely confined to speech or written representations of speech. It is most common in the Midland and Southern United States: Let's not wait on Rachel, she's always late. Wait on or upon (an event) does not have a regional pattern and occurs in a wide variety of contexts: We will wait on (or upon ) his answer and make our decision then. The completion of the merger waits upon news of a drop in interest rates.
Synonym Usage
Wait, tarry imply pausing to linger and thereby putting off further activity until later. Wait usually implies staying for a limited time and for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected: to wait for a train. Tarry is a somewhat archaic word for wait, but it suggests lingering, perhaps aimlessly delaying, or pausing (briefly) in a journey: to tarry on the way home; to tarry overnight at an inn.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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waitsimple
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waitssimple
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have waitedperfect
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has waitedperfect
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am waitingprogressive
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are waitingprogressive
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is waitingprogressive
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have been waitingperfect progressive
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has been waitingperfect progressive
Past
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waitedsimple
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had waitedperfect
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was waitingprogressive
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were waitingprogressive
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had been waitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wait
First recorded in 1150–1200; early Middle English verb waiten, from Anglo-French waitier; Old French guaitier, from Germanic; cognate with Old High German wahtēn “to watch,” derivative of wahta ”a watch” ( see wake 1)
Explanation
A wait is the time it takes for something to happen. The wait to get the brand new computer was four hours long, but it was worth it. The word wait originated in the 1200s, from the Old Northern French word waitier: "to watch with hostile intent." Even back then, people didn't like to wait. Anticipating something that will happen is waiting, though sometimes what you wait for never comes — like Godot, who never shows up in the play "Waiting for Godot." When you wait to do something, you delay. When you wait tables, you serve people, preferably without delay.
Vocabulary lists containing wait
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Before Slaughter, presidents who wanted to reshape a multimember commission generally needed to wait for the commissioners’ terms to expire to nominate replacements who shared their policy preferences.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
And Tuchel will wait to see how rapidly his condition improves before making a final decision on whether to pick him.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
When aides urged him to seek medical attention Saturday evening, Graham reportedly said he would wait until after his appearance the next morning.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Across the archipelago, marine iguanas routinely stretch out across boardwalks and walking paths, forcing tourists to either wait patiently or find another route.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
I wait for the flood of tears and regret to flow through me, but it doesn’t come.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
As Highsmith writes in the novel, “There’s also a person exactly the opposite of you, like the unseen part of you, somewhere in the world, and he waits in ambush.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Time waits for no one,” as the Stones once sang, but apparently that doesn’t apply to the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Their prehistoric look and yearslong waits for blooms make them intriguing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Attendees described long waits in exposed areas, limited shade and difficult conditions navigating a sprawling event designed to showcase the country’s semiquincentennial.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Jay struts up and down before he pecks at a card, while a woman waits to hear Rani tell her fortune.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
My younger brother waited until he turned 70 to start collecting a larger monthly Social Security benefit.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Hairdresser Anabel Delgado waited for customers outside the salon where she works.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
They had already waited four agonizing days for Venezuela’s bureaucracy to approve permits for them to enter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Standing up as debris fell around him, he waited for the dust and insulation to settle.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
We waited for most of an hour, until the beast decided to move away.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
She initially thought the pain in her right hand would be temporary and, whilst waiting for it to heal, started exploring the world of music written specifically for the left hand with her teacher.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
They agreed that being exactly right all of the time wasn’t worth the misery of waiting so long to witness a goal—and then being robbed of that moment of ecstasy when it gets overturned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
"Although I was not born in the United States, I have lived here my whole life," said Trevino, who now lives in Matamoros, Mexico, waiting and hoping.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
But those threads are waiting to be unspooled on your own trip to Hollywood via the silver screen.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
She’s waiting for Him now, as she steps through the dewy grass.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
